Embrace
by BeCreative4
Summary: Third installment of the "Changes" trilogy. Everything seemed like it was finally perfect; Ally had accomplished the impossible task of making Austin fall in love with her. But when problems from Ally's dream arise, she sacrifices herself for Austin, which results in her losing her memory. Now it's Austin's turn to help Ally rediscover their love, but it's going to be a lot harder.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_Hi, everyone. :) We're back for the third and final book of the Changes trilogy! Hope I didn't make you wait too long. I just want to say how much I appreciate you guys sticking with me through this, it means the world. I hope you enjoy this first chapter. x_

_My Twitter: **didoyousayashton **My YouTube: **BeCreative4**_

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**DISCLAIMER:** _I do not own Austin & Ally, nor am I associated with Austin & Ally._

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I stare at the small pile of papers in front of me. They've been in the bottom of my desk drawer, away from any other eyes but my own. Some of them are wrinkled, from where they've been shoved in my pants pocket, or wallet, or any number of places. Some of them are as good as new, pulled straight from the pile of paper in the printer in my dorm. Nonetheless, it's a pile of papers that I value. The page on the top is labeled, written in the neatest handwriting I could muster.

_The List of Things I've Learned About Ally Dawson_

I once joked with Ally about writing a list of things I had come to know about her, the day I took her out for lunch after she had caught Cassidy and I almost doing to deed the night before. I don't think she ever thought I'd actually do it, though, so I never acted like I was serious. The truth is, I was only going to write down the two things I had mentioned to her that day, but as time went on, and I got to know her more and more, the list grew, and now here it is before me. I'm afraid to open it now, but I'm desperate. I need to remember what she was like before she lost her memory. I have to.

It's been about a week since she woke up in the hospital. Like the coward I am, I haven't gone back. It's not much different, Trish tells me... She doesn't know anyone, not even her own father.

With a shaky hand I finally manage to reveal the first page on the list.

_She asks too many questions. It's kinda cute._

Just as expected, I feel a pang in my chest, and I'm unable to go on. I close the drawer with a slam and grip my hair in my hands, once again unable to believe the life that I'm living. I pace the room back and fourth for a few minutes, occasionally kicking the side of my bed in frustration. I eventually calm myself down and open the drawer once more, contemplating whether I should read on, but I know I'm just not ready yet. I shake my head slowly and close it, allowing a tear to fall on the first page before it's shut all the way.

I flop back on my bed, spread eagle. I'm still pissed at the fact that everything was okay for once, and then everything had to just get ruined all over again. Ally's been through a lot to make me fall in love with her, and now her efforts are meaningless, because here I finally am and she's the one left behind this time. It sucks.

I hear a very light knock on the door, and I sigh as I approach it. "Who is it?" I call out, something that I've learned to do from now on.

"Dez." My best friend answers from the other side. He's been visiting me at least once a day while I've kept myself locked in this room. He's offered to move back in with me so many times, but I know he's happier where he is now, and I don't want to take that from him even if it means that I'm beyond lonely most of the time.

I unlock the door to reveal Dez, a coffee from Starbucks in his hand. He hands it to my tentatively, and I take it, murmuring a quick thank you before letting him come inside and locking the door behind him.

"How you doing, buddy?" He asks, patting me on the back as if I were a child.

I shrug. "Fine." He knows I'm lying, it's obvious by the dark circles under my eyes and the slouch in my shoulders. I've gotten maybe five hours of sleep in the past week, and it's starting to get to me. Every time I close my eyes, though, I see Ally get shot all over again, and I just can't bring myself to deal with it. "How's she doing?"

He frowns. "Maybe you should come by the hospital and find out for yourself. Everyone wonders where you've gone to."

I sigh, setting my coffee down on my nightstand. We've had this conversation at least three times before. "I can't do it, Dez. I'm just not ready yet."

"She gets released from the hospital tomorrow," he tells me, "she's going to be living at her house, her dad pulled her out of college temporarily." He scrapes his shoe against the floor. "And I think I should probably tell you something else, too..."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Spit it out, Dez."

"Elliot's been at the hospital," he sighs, "trying to get her to remember him."

"What!" I shouted, tossing my hands up in the air. Dez takes a step back from me. "He can't do that! He's not her boyfriend anymore! He'll try to feed her all these bullshit lies-"

"Austin," Dez interrupts me, rubbing his temples, "calm down. I don't think it's necessary, but I've been keeping an eye on him for you. All he does is talk about when they were kids and stuff, he never mentions when they were dating."

"What does she say?" I ask curiously.

He shrugs. "Doesn't remember."

I'm not surprised. She doesn't remember anything. She doesn't remember the time she babysat me at a party when I was drunk, or the time we slept on the roof together, or the time I came to New York for her, or when I met her dad, or anything. It's all gone.

I feel myself starting to tear up again and Dez sighs, pushing me to sit on my bed. He sits beside me on the mattress and pats my back while I sob into my hands. This happens a lot lately, I just get really emotional and Dez just tries his best to comfort my until I get all cried out. And then he tells me to take a nap, tells me he'll come by and see me tomorrow, and then he leaves. I won't ever be able to nap, though. I'll just drink the stupid Starbucks and stare at the wall until my eyes hurt. And then I'll do the same thing all over again tomorrow. It was a never ending process, it seemed. I hoped I could get over it soon so that I could fulfill my promise to myself, about making Ally remember me.

I finally stopped crying, and Dez stood up. "Alright, buddy, I better go now. Take a nap, okay?" He heads towards the door, but looks back at me with his hand on the knob. "I'm bringing Ally with me tomorrow, so just be prepared." He leaves without giving me time to respond to him, and I groan, falling back on the bed.

Whether I was ready or not, it was time to stand up and do what I needed to do. It wasn't going to be easy, but there had to be a way.

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**A/N: **_Please **review, favorite, and follow **if you liked this! :) I love reviews, and you! xxxx_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **_This is short and kinda crappy but the next chapter is gonna be awesome just wait._

_My Twitter: **didyousayashton **My YouTube: **BeCreative4**_

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**DISCLAIMER: **_I do not own Austin & Ally, nor am I associated with Austin & Ally._

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She sits at my desk chair, awkwardly scraping her foot against the ground. Dez stares at me with his arms crossed, expecting me to say something, but honestly, what does he expect me to say?

He showed up with Ally on my doorstep a few minutes ago, as promised, but I had completely forgotten about it up until it happened. I hadn't showered or anything, it looks like I just rolled out from a coffin. It's kind of embarrassing.

"Well, are you going to say anything?" Dez asks me with a flick of his hand, and I shrug nonchalantly.

"I love you." I say to her coolly, because that's really all I can tell her at this point. She looks away from me quickly and back down to her feet, her cheeks a deep shade of red. If looks could kill, I would be dead right now thanks to Dez.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Dez hisses, "_Outside?"_

I sigh and get up, following him to the door. I can tell he's mad, but I could honestly care less at this point. I love Ally and that's all I really know at this point, besides the fact that she doesn't love me back.

"Yes?" I sigh once I shut the door behind me.

"Dude, you can't just hit her with that right away! Are you insane?" He hits a hand to his forehead, and I feel the blood bubbling inside of me.

"Why do you care so much, Dez?" I snap, "Stop acting like her older brother or something, holy shit! You don't have to baby her, she's tough. If anyone would know that, it would be me."

Dez's face gets red, and I'm kind of surprised he doesn't punch me. "You want to know why I care so much? Because I'm pretty much all she's got right now besides _Elliot _who you don't want around her! You never came back to he hospital, you never made any effort at all, and you expect everything to just be okay? It doesn't work like that. While you've been sitting on your ass I've been at the hospital trying to tell her stories and stuff like that. She needs a friend right now, and that's what I'm trying to do. So you can shut the hell up about 'babying her', because that's exactly what she needs, asshole!"

I'm feeling pretty small by the time he finishes ranting, and I just run a hand over my face and sigh. "I deserved that."

"Yeah, you did." He shrugs.

"I'm gonna make this right, I promise... It's just really, really hard." I feel my lip begin to quiver.

Dez sighs. "I know dude, but you have to get over it. For Ally."

"I know." I whisper.

He smiles and pats me on the back. "So, go back in there. I'll be out here waiting, whenever she's ready to leave. Okay?"

I want to tell him that I can take her home, but I know now that Dez is the only one she's comfortable around at this point and I can't do that to her. So I slowly agree before going back into the dark dorm to face my fears.

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**A/N: **_Woohoo Dez you tell him. Hahaha. Don't forget to **review, favorite, and follow! **xxxxx_


	3. ANNOUNCEMENT

**_Hey, guys!_**

**_So let me just apologize for not updating in like, forever, but I wanted to write this until I get the next chapter posted just in case some of you don't read all of the A/N's on every chapter._**

**_I know it really sucks that I have to go through phases where I don't update much at all. Writing is my passion and I love it but when things happen like being an upperclassman in highschool while working a job and traveling a lot, and ultimately, writer's block, it's just really hard to update a story on a normal occasion._**

**_I've been writing a story over on Wattpad for a while now that I'm very into at the moment and it's really hard to write anything else when that's all that I'm constantly coming up with ideas for, because I know exactly how I want this story to go so it's harder to motivate myself to write it sometimes._**

**_What I'm saying is that, until I strike up some inspiration and get the time, these updates are going to be slow. I'm so sorry to let you guys down like this because I love this story, I have an emotional attachment to it and the characters, so it's hard for me to feel this way. I hope you guys can forgive me. I will definitely finish this story, though, because I can't get this far and give up. I guess it's just kind of hard because it already feels like the ending for me because I know exactly what's going to happen (hehe), but what would be the point if I couldn't share it with my amazing readers?_**

**_I just ask for patience from you all, and for you to not be mad at me. I hope that's not too much to ask._**

**_Much love. xx_**


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